This invention relates generally to the art of electrical power cord accessories, and more specifically to accessories for holding plugs and receptacles of power cords together.
Frequently plugs of electrical power cords for equipment such as vacuum cleaners, electric powered lawn mowers, edge trimmers, drills, lights, and like, must be coupled to receptacles of extension cords. Similarly, plugs of extension cords are often coupled to receptacles of other extension cords. The friction connections between coupling prongs of the plugs and blades of receptacles generally will not hold the cords together against anything other than moderate separation tugs. When one uses an extension cord with a tool it is often necessary for the user to reconnect the plug with the receptacle when they become separated due to pulling or tugging action by the user.
In the past, in order to prevent two cords from separating, carpenters and others have sometimes tied two cords together in a knot. This "knot" method is unsafe because it can weaken or break one or both of the cords, creating an electrical hazard. Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a clip for holding together male and female portions of electrical cords without damaging or weakening either of the cords.
Tape has also been used to hold cords together. Although tape sometimes holds the connectors together, it is often messy, leaving a residue of adhesive on the connectors. Sometimes tape does not work very well because of the shapes of the plugs and receptacles. It is an object of this invention to provide a device for holding together male plugs and female receptacles of electrical cords which is not messy and which is useful for almost all shapes and sizes of receptacles and plugs.
A number of clips or clamps for holding electrical cord connectors together have been suggested in the prior art. Included among these are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,461,427 to Kneebone; 2,720,633 to Westberg; 3,383,639 to Anderson et al.; 4,183,603 to Donarummo; and 4,221,449 to Shugart. However, most of these devices are critically dependent upon sizes and shapes of plugs and receptacles with which they are used, also, some of them are comprised of more than one part and are, therefore, complicated to manufacture. It is an object of this invention to provide a clip for holding together connectors of electrical cords which can be effectively used with a large spectrum of connector sizes and shapes. It is also an object of this invention to provide a clip for holding together male and female connectors of electrical cords which is inexpensive to manufacture.